Lamp guard construction



Sept. 22, 1964 J. D. KEVORKIAN 3,149,786

LAMP GUARD CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 19, 1962 J se h -Kevorkmn E HTTORIUEV United States Patent 3,149,786 LAMP GUARD CONSTRUQTION Joseph D. Kevoritian, 20 S. Union Ave, Lansdowne, Pa. Filed Sept. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 224,787 1 Claim. (Cl. 240-102) The present invention relates to a lamp guard of the type including a reflector adapted to be carried by a handle and an open wire cage structure cooperable with the reflector to protectively enclose a lamp supported by the handle.

Lamp guards are not per se new, but in the past the structures usually were of the type which required demounting of the reflector and cage from the handle in order to replace the light bulb, or which utilized a multiple part interlocking cage structure involving the use of latching bails. A departure from structures of the foregoing types is shown in my United States Patent 2,975,269 which provides an improved lamp guard that need not be demounted from the handle to replace the bulb, and includes a cage pivotally secured to the reflector and latchingly engaged with the reflector collar. The instant invention is an improvement over the structure of my aforesaid patent in that it provides a materially simplified latching arrangement wherein the cage latches to the reflector and eliminates the need for special shaping of the collar.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a lamp guard of the type aforesaid adapted for being readily opened to afford access to the lamp without detachment of the lamp guard from the lamp supporting handle.

Another principal object of the present invention is to provide such a lamp guard wherein the wire cage structure is pivotally connected to the reflector for swinging movement relative thereto and releasably secured against swinging movement by improved means for latching the cage to the reflector.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become clear from a reading of the following specification in conjunction with an examination of the appended drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lamp guard constructed in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a reduced size front elevation of the lamp guard;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a reduced size side elevation of the lamp guard shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a reduced size side elevation of the lamp guard, showing the wire cage structure in open position.

In the several figures, like elements are denoted by like reference characters.

Referring now to the drawing, the exemplary lamp guard constructed in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention is mounted upon a conventional lamp-supporting handle 7, shown in phantom, preferably made of rubber. This handle is equipped with the customary electrical connectors and switch (not shown), and the upper end thereof is conventionally adapted for receiving and supporting an appropriate lamp 8, also shown in phantom. The upper portion of the handle also receives and supports the lamp guard 9, which latter protectively encloses the lamp 8.

The lamp guard 9 includes a sheet metal reflector 10 that has a longitudinally extending main body portion of substantially semi-cylindrical shape in transverse section which terminates in opposite end portions 11 and 12 that are concave, as shown, to provide maximum light reflecting efliciency. The lower concave portion 12 of the reflector 10 is axially extended to provide a semi-annular "ice element 13 to which is fixed a collar or band 14 that is provided with opposed laterally spaced terminating ears or portions 15 in the front of the guard. The semi-annular element 13 and the band 14 are fitted into the conventional groove that extends circumferentially about the upper end of the handle 7. For drawing the band 14 tight about the handle 7 and thereby securing the reflector 10 to the latter, a bolt 16 is projected through the collar terminating ears 15 and secured by nut 17.

The lamp guard 9 also includes a. wire cage structure 18 that is pivotally mounted upon the reflector 10, in the manner best shown in FIGURE 1, by bending the ends of an arcuately shaped transversely extending wire member 19 of the cage structure to form a pair of opposite ly disposed, inwardly projecting hooks or extensions 20 which are pivotally received on opposite sides of the upper portion of reflector 10 by holes 21 punched therethrough.

Disposed vertically below the wire pivot member 19 in substantially parallel relation thereto is an arcuately shaped transversely extending latching wire member 22 whose opposite terminal ends are bent first in at 23, then out at 24 and back in again to form a pair of rounded detent latches 25 biased outward and disposed in latching holes 26 punched through the opposite sides of the lower portion of the reflector 10.

The wire cage structure 18 includes, in addition to the transversely extending pivot member 19 and latching wire member 22, a wire member 27 bent to substantially conform to the outline of the reflector 10 and terminating at its bottom above the collar 14 in a pair of inturned ends 28, and a wire member 29 disposed centrally of the guard, the latter being curved at its ends to provide a lamp supporting hook 30 at its upper end and an inturned finger hold 31 at its lower end. The wire members 19, 22, 27 and 29 are all firmly joined together, as by welding, so that the cage 18 forms a unitary structure of substantial strength.

The detent latches 25 of latching member 22 are laterally resiliently shiftable about the pivot points formed by the welded junctions of wire members 22 and 27, the latches 25 being normally sprung away from one another when unrestrained by reflector 10 to a greater extent than appears in the showing of FIGURE 3, so that in latching position as shown in FIGURES 1 to 4 the latches 25 are resiliently pressing outward into the reflector holes 26 to maintain the cage 18 securely in lamp protective position.

When it is desired to open the guard 9 for purposes of changing the lamp, the user may hold the handle 7 with one hand and, with a finger of the other hand hooked behind the inturned finger hold 31 at the lower end of wire member 29 pull outward on the cage 18. The outward pull on the cage causes the rounded latches 25 to be carnmed inward by the reflector wall portions 32 and to withdraw the latches from the reflector holes 26 and pass outward out of engagement with the reflector, the entire cage pivoting about the hooks 20 of upper transverse wire member 19 into the open position shown in FIG- URE 5.

When it is desired to close the guard 9 the cage 18 is pivoted back until the rounded latches 25 abut the reflector wall portions 32 immediately in front of the reflector latch holes 25. Inward pressure is then applied to the cage 18 to thereby force the rounded latches 25 laterally toward one another inside of the reflector wall portions 32 until they move rearward sufficiently to snap outward into the reflector latch holes 26. Thus, it is seen that the guard 9 may be opened and closed without demouuting the same from the lamp holder handle 7 and with a minimum of time and effort.

In the construction as shown in the drawings, the collar or band 14 is secured, as by Welding, to the semiannular bottom extension 13 of the reflector part 16, thus permitting the latter part to be drawn and formed out of a simple blank of sheet metal having in itself no extensions such as are necessary to provide the collar or band. It will be appreciated, however, that the collar or band 14 with its terminating ears 15 may be formed integrally with the reflector part 10.

Having now described my invention in connection with the particularly illustrated embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications of the same may now occur from time to time to those persons nor mally skilled in the art without departing from the esscntial scope or spirit of the invention, and accordingly it is intended to claim the same broadly as well as specifically as indicated by the appended claim.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

A lamp guard comprising complementary reflector and cage members each forming approximately one longitudinal half of the guard, said reflector and cage members being interconnected for swinging movement of said cage member upwardly in front of said reflector to an out of the way position for lamp changing, said reflector including (a) a collar arranged at the base thereof for clamping the guard to a lamp holder, and

(b) upper and lower pairs of laterally positioned apertured wall portions, the aperture pairs of which are formed in the wall at opposite sides thereof proximate to but set back from the forward edges of the wall and spaced vertically at substantially equal intervals along the wall, said cage member having a plurality of interlocked wires including,

(a) a pair of generally U-shaped wires extending horizontally transversely to the length of the reflector and substantially parallel to one another in vertically spaced relation with the arcuate portions thereof forming part of the front of the cage, the opposite terminal ends of the upper one of said arcuate pair of wires being turned inward toward one another and projected through the upper pair of apertures in the reflector sidewalls to thereby function as pivot elements about which the cage may be pivoted upward as aforesaid, the opposite terminal ends of the lower one of said arcuate pair of wires being turned inward toward one another and being inflected outward forward of the terminal ends to thereby cause the outward inflections to eifectively project laterally outward through the lower pair of apertures in the reflector sidewalls to thereby function as detented latching elements effective to hold the cage in closed position, and

(b) a pair of generally vertically extending wires interlocked with said horizontally extending U-shaped wires, one of said vertically extending wires including a forwardly turned hanger hook portion at the top thereof extending above the reflector and a rearwardly turned finger hold provided at the bottom thereof adapted to be pulled forward to move the aforesaid latching elements inward toward one another by camming force applied there-against by the reflector wall portions lying between the lower pair of reflector wall apertures and the forward edges of the reflector wall to thereby withdraw the latch elements from the reflector wall lower apertures and outward out of engagement with the reflector to permit upward swinging movement of said cage memer as aforesaid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,779,459 Waterman Jan. 29, 1957 2,812,423 Penna Nov. 5, 1957 2,975,269 Kevorkian Mar. 14, 1961 3,018,535 Griffin Jan. 30, 1962 3,036,209 Wasselle May 22, 1962 

